Advantages

Disadvantages

Stick to the wired one

I first thought the idea of a wireless sensor bar for the wii would be a good thing. However now I have a wireless one, I've changes my mind, for starters it doesn't really matter too much is it has wires on it as, in my case, the wires just go round the back of the TV anyway, so was really a solution to a problem that doesn't exist for me.

Since this is a wireless sensor bar it needs to get its power source from somewhere else that isn't the mains plug, so it require batteries, and a lot of them, this sensor bar requires 6 AA batteries. So it can be very expensive if you have to keep buying new packs of batteries, so if you do plan on getting a wireless one I would recommend getting a battery charger that you can charge from the mains. Also most battery charger sets only charge 4 at a time so you will have to invest to 2 packs to have enough for the sensor bar to work.

Although once you have brought the battery chargers there aren't really any extra costs, it is still annoying having to charge up the batteries every time they run out, and they can take a while to charge up. And with the wii remote needing batteries as well, there are just too many batteries having the juice sucked out of them. Although unlike the wii remote it doesn't have a bar telling you how much battery it has left in it so you can tell when it will need charging soon. That means it is more likely to run out and stop working during the middle of a game. The only way to really solve this is making sure you charge them early before they run out, which means doing so more often.

Another problem with it using batteries is that it is much thicker and blockier, and overall less attractive to look at. I used to have the old official nintendo sensor bar on top of my telly even when I wasn't using it, as it was to thin and sat well on the telly. With this one however I don't like to keep it on there as it doesn't match with the telly as well, although at least being wireless it is easy to move out of the way, and you don't have to tie up all the cables.

In terms of responsiveness it seems good, and I don't think there is a difference between this one and the official one. However when it is starting to run out of batteries it becomes inconsistent and laggy, although it could be said this is a good thing, as if you can manage to control the sensor then it may give you enough time to save your game before it runs out completely.

Overall I wouldn't recommend this wireless sensor bar, as the benefits of wireless for something like this aren't worth the negatives, and the positives aren't that great anyway. Batteries really just mean you are solving one problem (which isn't really much of a problem in the first place), by replacing it with a bigger one. Not worth it in my opinion.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

-

Without the Nintendo Wii Sensor bar you cannot play the Wii as simple as. The Nintendo Wii will come with the sensor bar when you buy the console but these can easily become damaged from falling off of the top of the TV one too many times or having a kitten knock it down, bat it all over the house and then chew the wire - yes my cute little kitty, I am looking at you and your naughty sister for making us have to buy a replacement!

On our travels we popped into Game to purchase a replacement sensor bar. We had the full intention of purchasing the official sensor bar as usually I do think that the official things are the best (and I am a bit of a freak in that I like to keep all things with what they actually come with) but on this particular day we were a little short on cash and could do with making a saving if possible and there in front of the official sensor bar was this 4gamers Wireless Sensor Bar and it was reduced to £3.99. Bargain is what I thought and my husband agreed. Plus it was wireless so the likelihood of small kittens chewing through the wires and ruining another sensor bar was not a possibility.

The sensor looks nice and it made out of black and silver plastic. It doesn't feel as weighty as the official Wii sensor bar as it has no cable hanging down the back pulling it off balance as it is wireless though it does become more weighty once the batteries are in. I found it balanced better on top of the TV than the official one too.

The first problem encountered with the 4gamers sensor bar was that it needs 4x AAA batteries something the official sensor bar never needed. I was not relishing having to replace the batteries all the time as this was going to end up making it cost more than a official one in the long run.

This thing really eats the batteries. We had used the Wii for about 15 hours and the batteries in the sensor bar were dead and gone. And it doesn't give you any warning as to when the batteries are running low. It simply just no longer responds. Not great when you are in the middle of Mario Kart and winning a race. The use of batteries really negates the whole wireless concept of the sensor bar.

Overall this is okay. The battery usage really lets it down in my opinion and we did eventually go and buy an offical Wii one. Performance wise though it is very good in terms of response and it is pretty much the same as the official one in that sense.

If you don't have to replace your sensor bar then just don't bother although the whole wireless option sounds great what with the cost of batteries it just isn't worth it. Stick with the official one if you can.

Comments

Advantages

Disadvantages

Somewhat handy but could be better

The Nintendo Wii console makes great use of a clever wifi technology, to allow for a simple interactive gaming experience. The whole thing depends on the small and slim sensor bar that is made to sit on top of your tv. Which is all fine and dandy until your sensor fails!

When ours broke after a bit of over enthusiastic cleaning, led to it being rather roughly jolted across the back of the tv on to the floor, we had to look around for a replacement and came across the 4 Gamers Wifi Sensor Bar.

**********************************************************The 4 Gamers wifi sensor was well priced and seemed a good replacement for our damaged sensor bar. The 4 Gamers sensor is very similar looking from a distance to the Nintendo original and although its a little chunky in comparsion, it can still be placed carefully on top of a modern LCD tv, in the same way as the Nintendo sensor. It will need sticking on securely if you intend to use it that way though.

When you compare the two sensors together, the battery powered 4Gamers sensor is somewhat larger and chunkier and a lot heavier than the original.The cost of this cheaper replacement bar is around £3 to £5, which isn't too bad for the little sensor, its the heavy battery usage that lets it down. It has an on and off button and corresponding light and it can go onto your usual sensor stand if needed.

We have never used the sensor stand, as we sited the sensor on top of the tv, but, if you are going to site the sensor in front of the tv at the bottom on the tv stand, then use of the stand will be of benefit.

**********************************************************The product does require a number of batteries to work, in fact it needs as many as 6 AA batteries! Which can add up to rather a lot spent on batteries if you use the Wii frequently. The range of the sensor is meant to be around 10 meters, but we found that sometimes the responsiveness of this product was not as good as our original Nintendo product and this was frustrating.

Although the makers claim you can get up to 30 or so hours of game play from the batteries, this is very dependent on the type/ brand of batteries you choose. You can if you have enough of them, use rechargeable batteries in the sensor instead, but charging all 6 ready for the next time you want to use the Wii is a hassle.

When we coupled the short lived battery life and lack of accurate sensing from the bar together, we did feel that we ought to have looked into the product a little more prior to purchasing it.

**********************************************************In summary I feel that for occasional use the sensor works ok ish. I can see that as a back up product to keep as a just in case item, it can and does have its uses. It is totally wire free too and so doesn't look messy when on display and not in use. This lack of messy wires is one of its saving graces in a way, yet means you are spending out on batteries instead all the time.

I feel that the heavy usage of batteries is an issue here and has meant that we incurred more costs than just the initial cheap purchase of the item.Because of the issues of battery costs and limited sensor power, the rating for the product is just 2 stars and sadly this is a product I can only recommend with caution.

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

Hardly an essential product

An essential aspect of the Nintendo Wii is obviously the sensor bar....without this wave goodbye to the motion sensing controls. It's the device that sits on top of your TV and picks up the movements you make as you wave your arms round like a maniac playing the latest Wii titles. Having a very slim TV however I always have issues balancing the bar on top of it and it frequently fell off until one day, after trying all sorts to figure out why my Wii wasn't working, I realised the sensor bar had given in so I popped down to Gamestation fully intent on getting the official sensor bar as the replacement.

However, priced at £3.99 in the corner was the 4gamers Wireless sensor bar. Now, the first thing that hit me was the fact that this was wireless. Perfect I thought maybe the lack of wire pulling at the back will solve my issues of it constantly falling down the back of the tv and of course be one less wire jumbled around my TV set. The one down side to this however.....yet more batteries. Coupled with the Wii mote batteries Id need a frequent supply of Duracell to keep these two running.

It takes 4 AAA batteries and goes through them quickly. I must only have gotten ten hours gaming before having to change them, and that was using the high quality Sony batteries which last much longer in the Wii Mote. Thats the major downside. I always have a good stream of rechargeables on the go anyway so its not too much of an issues but is worth considering.

There is also no warning sign meaning that the only way to see the batteries going is if your cursor starts to go on the screen or you feel it not responding which can be a tad annoying if in the middle of a game. It's a situation where you might need to keep changing and charging batteries every 2-3 times you play to stop this happening.

It certainly looks better than the official one with a silver and black combo. It sits nicely on top of the TV and is a nice weight with the batteries in. Its simple to set up and more importantly than everything else, responds just as well as the official one. Its less clutter, more portable and easier to store.

However, I don't think its an essential buy. They both do the same job and the only real difference is the lack of wires which is nullified by the excessive need for battery power.

Comments

Advantages

Reliability

Disadvantages

A must for Wii owners.

Anyone who own a Wii console will be familiar with the sensor bar that comes included with the console. The bar usually sits on top of your TV screen and is used to track the movement of the Wii controller so that this is accurately replicated on screen. The sensor bar comes with a ridiculously long wire, which is very thin and not at all user friendly, as I found out when my kittens bit through it! Without my sensor bar, I would not be able to play games on the Wii, so I trawled through Amazon looking for a replacement. The 4 Gamers Wireless sensor bar immediately caught my eye, especially as it would have no wire for the kitties to chomp on.

The bar is ridiculously cheap at £2.80, and I was not expecting anything great for that price, however, the sensor bar only has to provide a light source to work (apparently you can also use lighted candles on top of your TV if your sensor bar breaks), so why should it cost a lot? I was very pleased with this product when it came.

The bar is basically a white plastic bar, which measures 9.5 inches long. It has a black strip along the front and a small black button in the centre, which switches the light on and off. When switched on, a small blue light appears in the centre of the bar. Underneath the bar are two rubbery grips to keep it steady and a removable panel for inserting the 4 AAA batteries that power the device. You insert the batteries, pop the bar on top of the TV, switch on the light and you are ready to play!

The bar works really well when playing Wii games and is an accurate sensor when you are pointing the remote at the screen. The bar is very convenient if you are taking the Wii to someone's house, as there are no awkward wires to deal with. It also minimises the amount of wires behind your TV that can get tangled up. I have had the bar for about 18 months now and it is still working really well.

The only downside to the bar is that it is VERY heavy on batteries. To cope with this, you really need to invest in a pack of rechargeable AAA batteries and a charger, otherwise this bar will cost you a small fortune to run. I usually have 4 batteries charging and 4 in the bar at any one time, so I can replace them when they start to run down. If the batteries run down during a game, the icon on the screen will start to flicker, or not appear at all. This makes play impossible, so it is very important to keep the bar full opf charged batteries at all times, as you don't want them to "go" during a game. I find that personally, a set of 4 batteries will last about 3 gaming sessions before they need replacing, and rechargeable batteries will lose their charge over time whether you use them or not.

Despite this setback, I feel that the wireless bar is much better than the official bar that comes with the Wii. It is cheap, practical, portable and effective, and I would recommend that anyone with a Wii get one of these as a cheap backup bar in case their sensor bar breaks.